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Preface
Chapter I - Preface The age of the suffering was marked by the hand of god. It was as if a presence swept over an entire continent, leaving nothing but scorched earth, cities berried under water, and nuclear holocaust as far as the eye could see. In the wake of the virus, humanity took to caves and underground bunkers, only then did civilization quickly fell apart. Nuclear power plants went off with no one to tend to them, water systems failed which lead to cities flooding, buildings and streets were set ablaze when oil refineries and the oil pipelines erupted. It was truly a symphony of destruction… There was no way to protect the old world from collapsing in on itself. When humanity, tried to return to the old world, with the three-quarters of a million or so people who survived the great virus, they were met with a new world. One, which was unrecognizable. Worse yet, humanity was no longer the apex predator. Those who tried to survive in the crumbling cities were either hunted by irradiated corpses and other abominations, or died trying to learn how to become self-sufficient. Very few knew how to fight off disease, make a fire, plant their food, or hunt wild animals. It was slaughter. The survivors, however, that did survive long enough to restart civilization, left the old world to try their way in rural areas. It wasn’t easy either. Lessons were learnt through starvation, cold winters, and disease. Eventually, however, those who moved away far enough from the old world, became self-reliant. People banded together to share knowledge and resources. They learnt to hunt, fish, grow crops, build shelters, develop livestock, and use medicine to fight off disease and radiation. These settlers, as they were called, created a new world. This new world was built through traditions and teachings passed on. Generations built fortifications and worked together to maximize resources. When humanity was on it’s knees, hope was re-ignited because of the perseverance of the human spirit. Settlers created laws to govern their lands, they elected settlement leaders to create order, they developed internal economies with goods and services, and they used elders of the community to teach younger generations so that the settlements could evolve and civilization could carry on. Over time, a year not recorded in any history, humanity was no longer just surviving, but they were thriving. As a testament to the resolve of man, territories began expanding all over North America. Each settlement a bit different than the rest, but through repopulating and expansion, settlements found ways to work together and make themselves stronger. Communities could trade goods at set values, because of a unified effort to co-exist. Even the mutated human communities were working together. However, as with all civilizations, there are still those with parasitic tendencies, bringing nothing to the commonwealth, and taking only for themselves. Raiders, as they’re called, live mostly at the outskirts of settlements, as most settlements now have guards and patrols that weed out bandits. Raiders mostly attack travelling traders, those who live outside of settlements, transient settlers looking to sell and buy goods. These traders like to bring old world goods to settlements, and settlements like to trade guns, medicine, and food between themselves. Traders have become the heart of settlement growth. The post-apocalypse is however, not romantic. Most don’t live long enough for their children to have children, and infants die all the time because of the harshness of the wasteland. It has been bitter sweet that a great deal of diseases have been weeded out at the cost of lives, however, as medicine progresses, there has been great breakthroughs. Most people won’t die from infections or common ailments. Water is made drinkable and sanitation is easily accessible, abet without the luxuries of running water. The new world is stuck between the stone-age and modern times. There are no gasoline engines, and there is no electricity, or natural gas. Settlers have to grow their own food, hunt, and fish. Settlers have developed crude fuel for diesel engines with biofuel, they transport people and goods by ship or horse, and they make their own clothing and houses. Many of the old world luxuries simply do not exist for settlers. Given enough time now, perhaps many decades or more, they don’t even need or remember them anymore. The old world is wive’s tales and folklore. The new age, which is the age of renaissance resembles the old world very little. Perhaps more-so, it resembles simpler times in human history with flashes of modern technology. A general rule of thumb, for devising a campaign, the larger the settlement the more advanced the settlement. However, larger settlements are also more likely to be befallen by corrupt politics and authoritarian rulers. Smaller settlements, don’t have as many amenities, but it’s settlers prefer simpler lifestyles. They may lack apothecaries and have few traders, but they find ways.